CNN is having a rough time of it lately. Not only has it been thoroughly trounced in the ratings war by Fox News, it has had to admit that they have a problem with facts - namely that they seem to have a problem reporting them.

Christiane Amanpour is billed as CNNs top correspondent - which is bad enough, considering her reporting. Now shes embarrassing the already shame-worthy CNN by saying that they were intimidated into not reporting facts; intimidated by two rather ludicrous sources - Fox News and the Bush administration. She doesnt offer any hard proof, just the woe-is-me, CNN-is-so-abused whining that has become commonplace in the last few years.

According to Christiane, the Bush administration and Fox News somehow muffled the voice of CNN (how exactly this was done isnt made clear), and kept CNN from reporting facts during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Christiane is unquestionably vague in her comments, which she recently made to Tina Brown, the editor of Vanity Fair magazine.

When Tina asked if there was actually anything during the war that CNN couldnt report, Christiane said, "It's not a question of couldn't do it, it's a question of tone. It's a question of being rigorous. It's really a question of really asking the questions. All of the entire body politic in my view, whether it's the administration, the intelligence, the journalists, whoever, did not ask enough questions, for instance, about weapons of mass destruction. I mean, it looks like this was disinformation at the highest levels."

Not a question of couldnt do it? Really? Well, then, if it wasnt, why didnt CNN do it? She isnt saying that Fox News enforcer-types were haunting the houses of Aaron Brown and Larry King, is she? So whats her excuse for her news agency? None, apparently. She simply gives this vague notion of intimidation. And is she implying that CNN didnt ask questions that should have been asked? Is that a surprise? I thought that happened pretty often at CNN.

Later, Christiane made this stunning admission: "I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled. I'm sorry to say, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News. And it did, in fact, put a climate of fear and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast work we did."

Gosh, I guess Christiane forgot about the 12 years that Eason Jordan admitted that CNN was self-censored in Iraq. And, interestingly enough, Bill Clinton was the President during most of the time. Did Clinton intimidate CNN into not reporting what was really going on in Iraq during those years? Did Clinton tell them not to report about the raping, torturing, and pillaging that Saddam was doing daily? I doubt it - it isnt nicknamed the Clinton News Network for nothing. There wasnt even a powerful Fox News around at this time - which goes to prove that CNN can do a horrible job even without any competition. Yes, we already knew just how easily CNN is intimidated, Christiane. CNN told lie after lie after lie - some flat out, some by omission - about Saddam Husseins regime so that they could keep access to the country, despite the fact that their access did no good since they didnt report the facts.

Perhaps what poor, persecuted Christiane and CNN are so upset about is that it is so much harder nowadays to make up facts and report them as truth, since there is decent competition in the cable news business, both from Fox News and MSNBC. Fact checking is no longer an afterthought; its a must unless you want to get called on it and then taken to the woodshed by your competitors. The ratings dont lie - CNN is going to have to stop the sloppy, halfway reporting that has characterized its years of monopoly and work to keep their viewers. That bodes well for us, the public, because now we know we have options. If one network wont report the facts, well hit a button and watch one that will.

Cathryn Crawford is a student at the University of Texas. She can be reached with comments at feedback@washingtondispatch.com.

CNN didn't muzzle itself during the early days of the Iraq war, when it aired a photo of an American soldier aiming a weapon around a corner of a building--with two frightened Iraqi women running past. The implication was that our forces were threatening the locals.

I actually watched her making the claims you point out, and was slackjawed that these weasels first admitted lying, distorting, and omitting, then stated that other news sources were better places to get the truth.

Once again, we hear these idiotic claims that somehow Fox is preventing the issues from being discussed, is suppressing debate, etc. How they manage to do that with about 1/20th the market share of NBC etc. remains a mystery. Robert Bellah had an idiotic article in the Christian Century making the same claim, that Fox is somehow controlling debate in this country and suppressing dissent. I actually think that if liberals could find out a way to shut down Fox, they would.

Well done CC. You might want to do a followup--Fox and WH intimidation versus Saddam Goons (a la the NY Times' Burns recent expose). A pox on the dishonest house of the War Slut and Clymer News Network....

17
posted on 09/23/2003 5:00:25 PM PDT
by eureka!
(Rats and Presstitutes lie--they have to in order to survive.....)

Used to play a game, where one got points for getting odd phrases passed the reviewers. If it got past the boss, 1 point, two points for getting passed QC, three for gettin passed the big boss - five, if it was actually briefed in the pentagon.

I won with "superat inter alia."

23
posted on 09/23/2003 5:02:48 PM PDT
by patton
(I wish we could all look at the evil of abortion with the pure, honest heart of a child.)

Now shes embarrassing the already shame-worthy CNN by saying that they were intimidated into not reporting facts; intimidated by two rather ludicrous sources - Fox News and the Bush administration. She doesnt offer any hard proof, just the woe-is-me, CNN-is-so-abused whining that has become commonplace in the last few years.

One could take off on Samuel Johnson: "Victimisation is the last refuge of a left-wing scoundrel."

26
posted on 09/23/2003 5:06:44 PM PDT
by Eala
(Victimisation is the last refuge of a left-wing scoundrel.)

Christiane said, "It's not a question of couldn't do it, it's a question of tone. It's a question of being rigorous. It's really a question of really asking the questions. All of the entire body politic in my view, whether it's the administration, the intelligence, the journalists, whoever, did not ask enough questions, for instance, about weapons of mass destruction. I mean, it looks like this was disinformation at the highest levels."

If the entire body politic sees things different than you, maybe its not them who are mistaken.

Can anyone recommend a good therapist for Christiane? A good MD may be required for the old war slut as well, Ive heard syphilis can derange a person.

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